Top Five – “dead” musicians whose bodies were never found

I’m going with something a tad more macabre and mysterious for Slacker Shack’s latest Top Five. I’m currently working on a debut novel all about a burnt out musician living out his last few years on a residential park in Cheshire. It’s filled with strange drug addled stories, alien abductions and weird cult stuff, and I’ve been researching lots of peculiar topics, from the history of Peacock Island in Berlin, to 70’s rock music’s dalliance with the occult, and lots in between.

I also ended up reading lots of articles about musicians and film stars who’ve gone missing over the years, or died in mysterious circumstances, and I thought a Top Five list of ‘dead musicians whose bodies were never found‘ might arouse some morbid interest.

Here are my Five…

My Number Five pick is Christina ‘Licorice’ McKechnie (also known as ‘Likky’). Likky was a singer and songwriter in The Incredible String Band between 1968 and 1972, and her whereabouts have been publicly unknown since 1987. She was last seen hitch-hiking across the Arizona desert, and there are rumours McKechnie’s family hired private investigators to try and find her in the 90’s, but were unsuccessful. However, some fans think she was so desperate to seek anonymity, she changed her name and is still alive in a small American town somewhere.

Number Four is Glenn Miller. Miller was a hugely popular bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. He disappeared on December 15, 1944, while flying over the English Channel during World War II, the day before Battle of the Bulge began. His plane was never found, and his body was never recovered.

In at Number Three is American singer-songwriter, Connie Converse, whose songs gained a cult following in the 1950s and 60s. Many considered Converse to be a pioneer of the modern singer-songwriter genre, and she recorded and self-released several albums of original songs, but struggled to gain any real commercial success. Then in 1974, she disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only a few recordings and letters to friends and family. Her ultimate fate is unknown, but it is widely speculated that she took her own life.

My Number Two pick is Richey Edwards (or Richey Manic as many fans knew him). Edwards was the guitarist and lyricist for the Welsh band, Manic Street Preachers, and he disappeared on February 1, 1995. His car was found abandoned at a service station near the Severn Bridge, and his body has never been found. In 2019 a book was published shedding new light on his disappearance. The book, Withdrawn Traces: Searching for the Truth About Richey Manic, offers a series of clues, suggesting that the musician may have carefully planned his disappearance. The evidence includes previously unreported sightings of Edwards, alongside accounts of his fascination with famous disappearances from history. Edwards was declared legally dead in 2008.

And my Number One is… Jim Sullivan. Sullivan might not be incredibly well known, but his two albums (released in ’69 and ’72) have gained a big cult following in the forty eight years since his disappearance. His debut album, U.F.O is a rich and beautifully produced, psych-folk classic, infused with supernatural and extraterrestrial tales, and it’s a big favourite of mine. Sullivan disappeared on March 4, 1975, in an area well known for UFO sightings, while on a trip to New Mexico. His car was found abandoned at a ranch, with his keys, wallet and a crate of his records inside. He was never seen again.

So, that’s my Top Five. Has anyone got a musician they’d like to add?